HARRISBURG – Six Republican PA House lawmakers introduced a package of bills that would lay the groundwork to recover Earth’s critical elements from former industrial sites in PA, creating jobs, securing domestic access to critical industrial inputs, and remediating past environmental degradation. Earth’s critical elements, such as cobalt, lithium, manganese, and zinc, are key components of modern-day technologies, including smartphones, computers, defense systems, and automobiles. However, much of the extraction and processing of critical elements occurs in other countries, some of which are not reliable trading partners with our nation or use unacceptable refinement methods. The critical element recovery process in PA would be fair, safe, and would dovetail with the cleanup of former industrial sites, benefiting local communities. The legislative package secures access to Earth’s critical elements via the remnants of PA’s industrial heritage. The lawmakers hope their colleagues recognize the opportunity beneath our feet and support the use of waste products from the state’s past to power the next generation of technologies.
